Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Amy & Miles on May 19, 2009 at 9:03am

Our guy is ten weeks old and we've had him for one week now. He got used to the leash, but still bites it playfully from time to time. I don't have a fenced yard either. My problem is that he wants to explore, pick up sticks, nibble on plants, check out lizards - everything but go to the bathroom. He prefers to wait and go inside. We're doing all the things they tell you - after play time, after naps, after eating. It's probably too soon to expect consistency...

Permalink Reply by Kelli & Penny on May 19, 2009 at 11:09am

7 weeks is so young, I have a puppy training book that say their brains are like infants until 12 weeks... meaning don't expect miracles until they are a little older. I noticed with my puppy a light go on around that age (maybe a little earlier) but at 16 weeks she still has accidents inside. It takes time.
Like Amy said, let him out immediately after sleeping, eating, playing, ect. If he doesn't go outside crate him and try again in 15 minutes or so. Most puppies won't go to the bathroom in their crates so if you hold on until you KNOW he has to go, then praise him like crazy when you take him out and he does go he might catch on.

Permalink Reply by Sarah, Sadie & Dexter on May 19, 2009 at 7:28pm

Sadie has a harness with the leash attached to that and she is doing a lot better then before. Also, she got used it it around the third time we put it on her and she is no longer doing the "dead dog" when we put it on her. She is now four months old and is mostly potty trained, we still take her outside in the morning because sometimes if we don't, she acts as though she has never gone through the dog door and decides to go inside instead. She only goes to the bathroom inside maybe once a week, so that is very positive! Just hang in there!

Permalink Reply by David on June 1, 2009 at 1:35am

I agree with the harness. Our Yoda heels much better with the harness. It seemed a lot more natural with him. He responds a lot better with a gentle tug on the harness than pull on the collar.

Permalink Reply by Joey and Karlyn on May 19, 2009 at 8:38pm

Our puppy is 8 weeks old yesterday and has been going potty on the leash for about a week now. We really didn't train her at all for the leash but we put it on everytime we take her out. We live in a busy apt and there are lots of cars passing through. She usually pulls and jerks when she has to go really bad, trying to find the nearest patch of grass or going "routes" she knows. She is used to the leash but does occasionally bite at it or will try to fight it (if we attempt to walk her). Oddly, she has no problems with it to go potty.

Too bad we can't get her to walk on the leash while we lead...yet.

Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on May 20, 2009 at 5:43am

Going potty on leash takes lots of patience with a young puppy. I would think that a youngster who does not get a lot of time to explore outside would take awhile to sniff around before going and may want to get further from you when going. You might try a longer lead (training leads are longer than walking leashes). The only time Leo goes on leash is when we travel and he has had to wait 4 or more hours to go. Even then he would still have to sniff around a lot and went to the very end of his leash to get away from me to go. These stories make me extra thankful for my fenced yard and dog door (also for Leo who is a good example for Randy). Randy does not mind his leash but it is only used when I take him out to the front yard to visit the neighbors and vet visits. With really young ones I use a "your feet don't touch the ground until we are outside" method whereas as soon as the little one wakes up from a nap he gets picked up and carried outside to go. When I take him out of his crate in the morning he does not get to walk to the backdoor to go out, I carry him and set him down where I want him to go. It works well when they are sleepy (just waking up) and may be confused and just go on the floor. Any time I think Randy needs to go out to potty (the usual times for pups, like playing for a bit, napping, etc.) I carry him out. Lucky me Leo goes out so often and takes Randy with him that there have been no accidents in the house from Randy, even when I am gone to work.

Permalink Reply by Valerie and Simon on May 21, 2009 at 5:06pm

Thanks to everyone for their replies! I ended up buying a harness for Simon and a longer, retractable leash, and he seems to be doing MUCH better with that! I also started taking him out with my other dog, and he REALLY does well on leash with her because he just adores her and wants to follow her everywhere. Unfortunately, SHE doesn't like him following her -- she likes her privacy outside. So I only take them out together once a day, because she really is the best 'teaching tool' I have for him.

Permalink Reply by Doug & Sarah Haag on May 30, 2009 at 10:27am

I have a 4 month old (Tank) and he has done pretty good with a leash - although biting like everyone else has mentioned. We live in an apartment, so it's been a real adjustment for all 3 of us to get used to potty time. At first, I wanted to train him using a litter box using either dog littler or potty pads - but my vet told me something interesting: dogs learn to go not only by location, but also by texture. This meant that if we kept training Tank to use the pads or litter, that he may never want to go in the grass! Well, that changed our minds really fast, so we've been going outdoors ever since. He still uses the pad sometimes, but here's our plan....we want to buy a bell and teach him to ring it when he needs to go outside (because we don't have a doggie-door in our apartment). That way he's not scratching up doors or barking! Anyone tried this approach? Any other tips?

Also, back on the leash topic - we've been taking our pup for a daily walk for about 45m in a public place where he can get some socialization - what are you all doing? Do any of you have issues with your pup nipping at your legs and feet when you try to jog? (this is something we're working on right now)

Great topics - good to have other puppy owners to chat with!

Permalink Reply by Toby on June 23, 2009 at 4:00pm

Our puppy is 11 weeks now, and we just started him on the leash. We did it when he was like 9 weeks old, and forget it, he wasn't ready. He is now taking to it a little bit, we take him outside with the leash, he still not 100% with it, but he's getting used to it. I think your puppy is too young maybe for it. I would wait a few more weeks to see, or introduce it a little everyday.